Dear Professor Tirole. Once upon a time, we sought a magic sword that would cut through any stone. Then, one day a new blacksmith arrived. He forged many swords, each of them stronger and more flexible than any we had seen before, and he showed us which sword cut which sort of stone. Finally, on each sword, he engraved Voltaire’s commandment: Un grand pouvoir impose une lourde responsabilité.

You are that blacksmith.

It is an honor and a privilege for me to convey to you, on behalf of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, our warmest congratulations. May I now please ask you to step forward and receive your prize from the hands of His Majesty the King.